A view from the Dallas Fort Worth airport

Website design By BotEap.comSeveral years have passed since I flew; Usually when we travel, we drive wherever we’re going, but driving from northern Nevada to Austin, Texas, and then south to Houston in mid-June didn’t seem all that appealing to John or me. so i decided to fly, alone.

Website design By BotEap.comAfter boarding three different planes and two layovers; one in Salt Lake and then a second longer in Dallas, I have reacquainted myself with the art of flying. The actual feel of flying hasn’t changed: people rushing, running, in some cases rushing to their next flight only to find the plane hasn’t boarded yet, the worst kind of stress. Men, women and children of a variety of races, languages, dress – a microcosm of the world – trying to get from one part of their world to another as quickly as possible; their faces reveal expressions ranging from anxious, frustrated, boredom to impatience as they wait and wait and wait.

Website design By BotEap.comThe airlines have made some significant changes in an attempt, I suppose, to streamline their processes and reduce costs. Among those that were immediately apparent to me are the now strict weight limits for careless passengers who mindlessly add one and then five more books along with other non-essential and rather heavy items resulting in an “excess fee”. “. A $100.00 surcharge for the offending three-pound excess works exactly like a speeding ticket: I know I’ll stay under the fifty-pound ceiling the next time I fly.

Website design By BotEap.comGone are the people who struggled to make an oversized suitcase fit into an overhead bin that was too small with the not-so-patient butler helping in futile attempts to make the impossible happen as the minutes ticked by. The rules are clear and are followed. Airline staff spot and then detain the few people with oversized luggage before they board the plane; efficiently, the large piece of luggage is carried quickly, so that the boarding process moves a few hundred people onto planes in twenty minutes or less.

Website design By BotEap.comThe ubiquity of mobile devices with free Wi-Fi in airports and on airplanes allows instant communication for everyone from anywhere. People writing, texting and talking on smartphones about the latest corporate catastrophe, like the man behind me at the Dallas Fort Worth airport, exhaustively sharing his heartbreak over the unexpected resignation of a key player to a listener. who is supposed to feel the same. .

Website design By BotEap.comI am aboard my third plane since 6:30 this morning as I complete this post. A quick and unscientific survey of the hundreds of people seen during this long day revealed that only two others were carrying an actual book to read. Many passengers use their mobile devices to avoid a stranger’s gaze, earphones carefully placed.

Website design By BotEap.comThe young woman sitting next to me on the last leg of this journey is one of three people I’ve ever seen with a book, a real book, and she expresses gratitude when I hand her the finished novel.

Website design By BotEap.com“Do you like fiction?”

Website design By BotEap.comSmiling, she replied, “Yes I do, I travel all the time and am always looking for books to pass the time. Is it good?”

Website design By BotEap.comReturning her smile, I replied, “Okay, time will pass.”

Website design By BotEap.comCaptain Samantha Martinez is a member of the Texas Drug Enforcement Task Force Joint Operations OIC, a coalition of many agencies working together to stop the cartels’ stranglehold on the global economy. She loves her work because she knows that she is making a difference.

Website design By BotEap.comHe listened as I explained that a character in my upcoming book is a member of a Texas coalition anti-drug task force that I thought he made up, and he said yes when I asked if I could use his name in the novel and handed me his card. presentation as we exited the plane together and headed to the baggage claim area.

Website design By BotEap.comOne of the unexpected gifts of spending an eternity on airplanes was meeting a young woman like Captain Martinez; working to make this world a better place: God bless you, Samantha. And thank you very much for allowing me to use your name for one of my characters in my next book.